


Impeccable Timing

by chai_and_coffee



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura - Freeform, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Mob, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Doctor - Freeform, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, F/M, M/M, Romance, Shiro - Freeform, Slow Burn, police officer, shallura - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-04-24 12:33:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19173355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chai_and_coffee/pseuds/chai_and_coffee
Summary: Police officer Takashi Shirogane has a routine. 60 steps to the coffeehouse, 4 minutes and 20 seconds for his coffee, 15 minutes to eat ice cream, and so on. Square numbers are his best friend, anything otherwise irritates him. His world is perfect for him, neat and orderly and just how he likes it.With her wrinkled lab coat and lack of time management, Allura Altea challenges everything he's learned, bringing up years and years of past memories he's been repressing.And with the help of the blue-eyed doctor, Shiro might learn that there's more to the outside world, away from the confines of a face of a clock.But a tragic encounter with the mob, a mysterious patient, and betrayals on every end might be just the things to send him back to his punctual paradise.





	1. lone digger

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tybalt_tisk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tybalt_tisk/gifts).



> Thank you to @tybalt_tisk for inspiring me to write again. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep this up throughout the summer.

60 steps. 

 

That’s how many steps there were from the coffeeshop to the police station. 60 steps, with Shiro being able to put his feet squarely between each tile, never touching any of the cracks or crevices. 

 

His order took exactly four minutes and twenty seconds, five minutes if the line was too long. Sometimes the barista chatted too long, and that’s when he got his coffee at four minutes and forty three seconds, but that had too become a part of his schedule to account for. 

 

His order was simple. A medium dark roast coffee, black. No cake pops. No croissants. Sometimes he had to get his partner’s order, but that stayed pretty consistent, too. Lance enjoyed a medium white chocolate mocha, and very rarely asked for Shiro to pick him up something. With Lance’s order, Shiro’s schedule was about 5 minutes and 5 seconds. 

 

Today, however, he had none of that. He was second in line, no Lance texting him furiously to ask him for a cup, no line behind him. He had counted out the sixty steps in his head like he did every morning. He used to count aloud, but Lance told him that it was a bit creepy, so he had stopped. 

 

Shiro tapped a finger against his leg, and internally cringed. He tapped the other leg quickly with the other hand to restore balance. He usually had never time to tap. If he was tapping, then something was off about his schedule.

 

A quick turn of the wrist revealed his suspicions to be true. He was running two minutes behind—how? He had gotten to the door exactly at the time he was meant to be, he was second in line, and this was the chatty barista’s day off…meaning the person in front of him was taking too long. 

 

The woman in front of him was wearing a white lab coat, with her silvery hair pinned up into what he assumed was an attempt at a bun. It was messy, nothing like the military style buns he was used to seeing on military women, with stray hairs falling everywhere, making the good doctor look like she had just rolled out of bed. Given the creases on her lab coat, Shiro might have actually thought she rolled out of bed. She appeared to be reading furiously from a group chat. 

 

“An order of your caramel macchiato—“ And so on, the woman went, adding things upon things. If Shiro didn’t know better, he would assume she was buying drinks for a small army rather than fulfilling her coworkers’ desires. When the doctor added two more drinks to her ever growing list, Shiro decided it was time to step in. He reached out, tapping the woman lightly on her shoulder. 

 

“Ma’am,” He said politely, “You’re taking a long time.” 

 

Usually, he would have been able to tell whether or not his sentence was okay based on the reaction of the other person, but the woman impassively turned away without a hint of emotion on her face. Shiro thought he saw a glint in her eyes, but didn’t quite know what that meant. 

 

He fully expected her to wrap up her order, but instead, she continued. At a certain point, she put down her phone and looked at the menu, ordering random pastries from the bakery, and even taking the time to relay her orders for water. Was she doing this on purpose?! 

 

When her order had finally finished, she stepped aside, shooting him a look of triumph before stepping aside. 

 

By now, Shiro was fifteen minutes late. He bit out his order through clenched teeth, determined not to break his routine anymore. 

 

-

 

“Late day?” the police station chief called out as Shiro ran past, thirty minutes past the time when he was supposed to start his shift. 

 

“Don’t mention it.” Shiro grumbled as he sprinted to his desk. Lance stopped spinning around in his chair and looked at his partner, who sank down and tried to hide his disgruntled nature. 

 

“Whoa, dude. What’s gotten you so late?” Lance asked, quirking an eyebrow upwards as he saw Shiro take a sip of his coffee while flicking through certain files for the day. 

 

“This one lady—“ Shiro began, but Lance soon cut him off. 

 

“Woah, buddy! Someone got laid last night! How was it?” 

 

“Not like that.” Shiro replied, a bit testy. “This one lady was in front of me at the coffeeshop had the longest order ever, and when I told her that she was taking too long, she ordered more.” 

 

“How did you tell her that she was taking too long?”

 

Shiro relayed the way he had politely told the woman to get a move on, and Lance pursed his lips thoughtfully. “Okay, so not the way to say it, dude. But it’s okay. Next time..” Shiro listened as Lance spoke, not at all minding that he was getting lectured by a boy. But they had an odd relationship. Shiro would help Lance with his police skills, Lance would help Shiro with his people skills. There was a balance of things. 

 

The thoughts of the doctor slipped his mind, and his irritation ceased with the prospect of work to occupy himself with. It’s why he had done so well in the military—everything that bugged him seemed to dissolve as work took root. 

 

Lance’s commentary became background noise as Shiro focused on the case at hand. Nothing major, just a disturbance call. Shiro parked the cruiser near the curb, peeking outside the window. 

 

“Don’t be too trigger happy. We’re just going to check on them, make sure everything’s okay.” Shiro warned. 

 

“Got it, boss.” Lance nodded like one of those ridiculous dolls that sat on the tops of people’s cars, before the partner duo stepped out of their car. 

 

They approached the door, one hand on their guns. Shiro pressed the doorbell, but didn’t hear any sound. He resorted to knocking.

 

“Hello? This is the LAPD, we got a call about a disturbance. Is everything alright?” He called out. When there was no answer, he tried again. 

 

The second time proved to be fruitless. Lance spoke up the third time, after a series of knocks. 

 

Maybe they were out? No, that didn’t seem to be right. There was a car parked outside, right in the driveway. 

 

Shiro’s eyes caught on the slight tilt of the doorknob, and realize that the door was open. He motioned with his head for Lance to look, and when his partner caught sight of the slightly ajar door that had been cracked open due to their knocking, his eyes widened. 

 

“I got your six.” Lance said, sounding like one of those men in those spy movies. Shiro wanted to reprimand him; this wasn’t the time nor place, but there were other things that he had to pay attention to. Shiro pushed the door open, drawing his gun out. Lance did the same thing, covering his back. The two moved through the house, stealthily and silently. 

 

“Clear.” Shiro said as he surveyed the living room. 

 

“Clear.” Lance said back, after investigating the dining room. 

 

Their calls remained the same until Shiro looked around the kitchen. He saw a form, a crumpled heap of a body. “Lance, there’s someone here!” He called out. Shiro raced to the side of the boy. “Looks like 20s, Male, no obvious wounds but is unconscious. Call an ambulance.”

 

“Got it.” Lance relayed back. Within a few minutes, the sirens of the ambulance pierced Shiro’s ears from outside. 

 

“Lance, stay with the detectives, find out what happened here. Based on my initial guess, I think it’s a raid of some sort. I’m going to go with the victim and see his condition, and if he’ll be able to wake up and tell us what happened.” Shiro instructed, and with that, the two partners parted. 

 

The ride was quiet, with nothing but the piercing howl of the sirens every so often. When they parked, the man heaved a sigh of relief. Ambulances weren’t his favorite thing—he should have switched with Lance. 

 

“What do we have here?” A female, authoritative voice cut in. 

 

“Male, 20’s, no sign of head trauma—“ Shiro began as he helped the gurney down. 

 

“Got it. We’ll rush him and get him checked out. You’re welcome to wait in the waiting room.” The doctor offered. 

 

It wasn’t until he sat down and relaxed that he realized that the same loose strands of hair he had seen in the morning had been just mere moments away from him now, belonging to the same woman who had messed his entire routine up. 


	2. wonderland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the case develops, along with slight banter between Shiro and Allura.

“Officer, I’m ready for you.” The doctor’s voice cut through the stale air of the waiting room. Shiro got up from the chair he had been occupying and made his way to her. She led him up a series of steps until they reached a hallway, where she unlocked one of the doors. She led him inside, and he looked around quickly as he sank down into one of the chairs sitting in front of her desk. 

 

This must be her office. Internally, he cringed. It was quite messy. There were piles of papers on the floor, looking like someone had began organizing it, but soon gave up. There were text books all open in various places, and a small futon at the end of the room. Her desk was filled with papers and pens, and she made no motion to clear it. Instead, she sank down carefully, as though disrupting the environment she had would change something. 

 

“Sorry about the mess, and I would lie to you saying that I’m usually neater, but that would be a lie.” The doctor said, and made no effort to expand on her comment. 

 

“No worries. Nice place.” He said, and his eyes glanced at the lab coat she was wearing. There, in loopy blue thread, her name was spelled out, ‘Allura Altea’. 

 

“I usually bring people up here when the patients are in critical condition or there are sensitive things to be discussed. Am I correct in following protocol considering that this is still an open investigation?” She asked him. 

 

A doctor who knew the procedure—Shiro was quite impressed. Not many doctors studied up on the legal aspect of things. In a way, he was happy to be working with a professional. 

 

“Yes, ma’am. You’d be right.”

 

“Excellent. Officer Shirogane, there are certain things that concern me with the patient. For one, he’s never been registered at this hospital. Currently, I noted that he has a brain contusion. Essentially, he has a bit of blood forming within the skins of his brain, but that requires minor surgery to fix. This could be due to an altercation where the head was impacted. Several of his ribs are cracked, so I’m recommending that he stays here until he has fully recovered.” She said, writing it down neatly for him. “But there’s something else that I’m a bit worried about.” She said, and opened one of her drawers. She slipped out a scan, was that—an arm?

 

“If you see here, there are a few ridges here and here.” She pointed to various parts of the bone. “Those are past fractures, and based on the alignment, they haven’t healed properly.” 

 

“What would you be insinuating, Doctor?” Shiro asked. This was important. He knew nothing about this kid, and if there was some medical aspect, that would be a step closer to identifying him. 

 

“I’m saying that there’s foul play involved.” The doctor said, her eyes calm. “Keep a look out for it.” She warned, sliding the list of the patient’s conditions over to him. He mentally thanked her for being able to predict what he needed in order to report back to his chief. 

 

“Will do.” He nodded. “I’m going to have to do a bit more digging, but that will have to come after a cup of coffee.” 

 

She cracked a grin at that. “The cafeteria on the 2nd floor has an excellent brew. Tell them Allura sent you, they won’t charge you. And I promise that I won’t take up the entirety of your ordering time this time.” She said, and he realized that she was teasing him. 

 

So she did recognize him! He glanced at his watch, 7:28. He needed conversation for two more minutes if he wanted to leave exactly at 7:30. 

 

“Ah, that’s a relief.” He began. “May I ask who the coffees were for?” 

 

“The pediatrics kids. I lost a bet to them, didn’t get a date for the weekend, so I had to grab them all their special orders. That’s why it took so long. Of course, I didn’t need you stating the obvious.” She rolled her eyes at him.

 

“I’m not the best at patience. I should get going, I need to report in.” Shiro said as he stood up and excused himself from her office. He hoped his exit wasn’t too abrupt, but one glance at his watch gave him the results he needed — 7:30 on the dot. 

 

\- 

 

A couple of coffees later, Shiro was back in the waiting room. Doctor Altea had gone into surgery and none of the nurses were willing to update him on the condition of the patient. The only thing he saw was the blue-scrubbed nurses running frantically into the operating room. 

 

His phone rang, and he quickly stepped outside. The familiar face of Lance lit up his phone and he answered quickly. “Go.”

 

“Geez, stop being so demanding. Maybe start with a, ‘Lance, how are you doing?’” His partner’s voice filtered through the speakers. 

 

“Lance.” Shiro replied, with the tone of someone who had little to no patience. 

 

“Okay, okay. So your update, we found the kid. Apparently, he’s not so much of a kid. His name’s Keith Tran, he’s 23. Has a long list of priors that I’m going to read out to you, but first, there’s something you need to know. The top tag says that this kid’s involved with the mafia or a gang or something. I don’t know, the system is speculating, based on his recent activity. Okay, but get this, our Keith was a juvenile delinquent. Orphan, bounced around to foster home, got put in juvie for setting his chem lab on fire while trying to smuggle some drugs out. Anyways, he got released, and got arrested for a few petty thefts, until now.” Lance reported. 

 

“Okay, looks like he’s in with a ring of some sort. That would explain him with the drugs, that could have been an initiation sort of thing.” Shiro said, postulating. This was a common thing with Lance, they both threw out circumstances upon circumstances, and more often than not, they hit gold. 

 

“Right, right. Except, what if because that initiation went wrong, he’s got a ring after him—and he joins up with a new ring, except they aren’t as strong as he thinks, because before long, he’s left for dead.” Lance countered. 

 

Shiro sank down into a seat, rubbing his head with his palm. There was something that wasn’t fitting in. 

 

“Lance..what if he’s blacklisted?” 

 

The swear word that came from his partner was quite improper, but had Shiro hadn’t been in a hospital with little kids around, he probably would have said something along the same sort. 

 

“Okay, well, I need to do some research on that.” Lance muttered quickly. 

 

“I’ll ask the doctor if there are any marks on his body.” Shiro said. The two talked for a bit more, before hanging up. Shiro stayed in the same position, with his palm pressed against his forehead until a pair of pink sneakers entered his view of the sterile floor. 

 

“Hey, the kid’s okay. We cleared up the blood, and his brain’s back to normal. We also got to let him keep most of his hair, so his pride won’t be damaged.” She grinned at him. Everything about her body language radiated fatigue, but her eyes sparkled with a giddiness that seemed alien. He realized, then, about her office. She was intellectually more than anyone, hidden behind the guise of a petite frame. The disarray of her office was a carefully placed manner in which the workings of a genius could operate. 

 

“That’s great. Now, listen. Keep this between us, but were there any marks on the kid’s body?” Shiro asked urgently. The tone of his voice made her blink, and within a second, the professional mindset was back to being displayed on her face. 

 

“He had a few moles—none cancerous, but —yes, he did. A small triangle, sitting in his glenoid cavity.” She said, her lips pursed in thought. 

 

When she noticed his questioning look, she reached out and touched the small spot where his arm met his shoulder. 

 

She didn’t catch the way his eyes widened as he processed that. The information was disastrous, and he struggled to keep his voice down as they walked down the hall, pausing right before the patient’s room. “Well, we think that he’s involved in something serious. Well, that triangle marks him as part of the Trifecta gang.” Shiro relayed the information. As his primary healthcare provider, she had a right to know whether or not she wanted to get involved. 

 

“In that case, I would be the best person to have.” She said calmly. 

 

“I don’t think you understand—these are dangerous people. We’ve tried, for years, to get rid of them. Last summer, they killed—“ Adam, he wanted to say, but he kept it down. “—one of our men. In cold blood. But the judge refused to give us a warrant to go investigate them.” 

 

“I think I understand more than you think.” she said. “I can keep him safe.” 

 

He wanted to protest, but there was a look in her eyes that made him stop. He watched as she clocked out of her shift, and sank down in a chair next to the patient’s bed. Her gaze was fixated on the fluctuating readers. He studied her a bit more before trusting her, and leaving. 

 

Twenty sit-ups, forty push-ups, sixty chin-ups, eighty bearcrawls, a hundred reps on the bench press…

 

Shiro got into bed right at 11:30, closing his eyes. He drifted off at 11:35, the look in the doctor’s eyes following him into his nightmares. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! please let me know what you thought. comments really inspire me. 
> 
> catch me on tumblr: @chai_and_coffee


	3. miracle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the date!

The doctor’s strange behavior continued longer than Shiro had expected. When he saw Dr.Altea sitting by Keith’s bed for the first few days, he just chalked it up to doctorly concern. But her behavior grew concerning as he watched her from his post in the doorway. He once caught her humming a tune to him, her hair sliding into the patient’s hair, as if she was a mother crooning to her child. Her expression was fierce when dealing with the patient, a sort of protectiveness that Shiro hadn’t been able to figure out. She hadn’t known him before, because otherwise she would have been able to identify him. However, at the mention of the gang, she adopted this stance. 

 

It frustrated him, and to make things worse, the doctor had cut off all communication with him. She still reported to him about Keith’s condition, but the teasing banter was long gone. 

 

“Make her open up.” Lance had said when Shiro had discussed it with him. “Draw her in, make her want to talk to you.”

 

That hadn’t been very helpful advice, considering that Shiro barely knew how to talk to himself. But Lance had seen the questioning look on his face and had immediately stepped in to help.

 

With Lance’s pointers firm in mind, Shiro approached the doctor’s office, the sound of his shoes against the stairs making him anxious. He counted exactly fifteen steps like all the times before and silently praised the architect for having a square number. He knocked, exactly three times, and paused. He held his breath until the door swung open (sixteen seconds, which was somewhat satisfying because sixteen was a square of four, but wasn’t as satisfying as fifteen or twenty. But then again, nothing about the doctor seemed to fit his ways. Why was he doing this again?)

 

Apparently the doctor had said something that he missed. “Officer Shirogane? What can I do for you?”

 

He looked at her for a moment, looking at her disheveled state, the way she opened the door only a little bit, standing in the crack that she opened. Everything about her radiated distrust. 

 

“I had a question for you.” He began. 

 

“Had?” She questioned. 

 

“Have.” When she made no move to open the door, he gestured at it with a hand. “Can I come in?” 

 

Her eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second that a lesser experienced person wouldn’t have caught, but she relented and stepped aside, swinging the door open for him to step in. He did, and took a place on the couch a bit gingerly, not wanting to disturb the files that appeared to have made a home there. 

 

“What is it that you want ask me?”

 

“Well, I was thinking..” He swallowed drily and winced. Why was this so hard? “I was wondering, if..” He cracked his knuckles five times before asking. “If you’d want to go to dinner with me?”

 

Okay, yeah. Lance had asked him to honeypot the doctor. 

 

It was clear that his request was not what she had been expecting at all. She crossed her arms, staring at him, but Shiro didn’t wither under her scrutinizing stare. It was a solid minute (and four seconds, Shiro was looking at the clock in his peripheral) before she moved, looking for something on her desk. She fished out a sheet of paper that had been stuck between a few medical journals and handed it to him. “That’s my schedule. You can pick any day where I’m not working the night shift. Also, I’m vegetarian.”

 

He glanced at it quickly, and handed it back to her. “I’ll pick you up after your shift on Thursday.”

 

“Dress code?” She asked. 

 

“Whatever you feel like wearing.” He responded with a smile. 

 

She seemed pleased at his answer, before cocking an eyebrow at him. “If that’s all, get out of here. I have important things to be doing, and I’m sure you do too.” She said. 

 

He grinned as he obeyed her orders, but as he glanced at his watch, he huffed. One minute past 8:30. Damn. 

 

Lance was quite excited to hear about his upcoming meeting with the doctor. “You get a date, and you get to work her for information! It’s the perfect thing.” 

 

“Lance, I’m not trying to broaden my dating life, this is purely for information. I have a feeling that she is hiding something about this case—why would she be so involved? There’s something going on.” Shiro said as he anxiously leaned back in his chair. 

 

“Okay, okay, sorry.” Lance said, though he didn’t look too sorry. “But you’re right. There’s something fishy going on. But also, where are you taking her? She’s vegetarian.”

 

“Honestly? Souplantation.” Shiro said, and he had never seen Lance look so offended as he did now. 

 

“Soup—?” Lance began

 

“Plantation?!” A head with orange hair peeked over the desk. Pidge, or Katie as she was known, was the precinct’s tech wizard. 

 

“This was a private conversation.” Shiro grumbled. 

 

“Well, not with you two talking so loud. Shiro, if you take her to Souplantation, she’s never going to date again.” Pidge protested. 

 

“Normally, I wouldn’t agree with gremlins, but she has a point. Souplantation is an easy way out. You got to do better.” Lance said. 

 

“Might I suggest you take her to that Thai place on Seventh and Caravan? Another head, this time belonging to Hunk, popped up. Hunk worked with Pidge very closely, he belonged to the forensics division. 

 

As much as he wanted to rebuke him for getting involved in a conversation that didn’t initially involve him, Shiro couldn’t say anything against Hunk, who had a reputation for being the nicest person in the force. 

 

“That would work, thanks Hunk.” Shiro said with a tight smile. 

 

Lance opened his mouth to grill Shiro some more about his impending date, but Shiro glared at him. “Another word and I won’t buy you coffee no matter how much you ask for another two months.”

 

Lance shut his mouth quickly after that. 

 

~

 

Allura was in the middle of an operation when she swore and glanced at the time. She had thirty minutes to get ready for her date with Shiro, and she had her hands in someone’s body cavity. She quickly paged a doctor to take over to her, and ignored the way the OR hooted with shouts of approval as she left to go get ready. 

 

She ran to her office, and barely had enough time to take a shower, spritz on perfume, and slide into the simple black cocktail dress that she had picked out. She slid on her pumps of the same color soon after, and looked at her hair, which she had straightened the night before. “Not bad.” She muttered. A few swipes of gloss and eyeliner would be the final touches. 

 

She stepped out of her office, her heels clicking on the linoleum tiles, and made her way out to the front entrance. Shiro was standing there, wearing a simple dark shirt tucked into blue jeans, a black leather jacket pulling the entire look together. He leaned against his bike with ease, as if he was less of an actual police officer and more of a model. Allura half expected him to be wearing aviator shades, but realized that it was evening and the shades would be pointless. 

 

“Hello,” Shiro said, albeit a bit shyly, and gave her a slight once-over, through Allura found herself not bristling at that action. Had any other dared to look her over, they would have been met with a sharp retort, but with Shiro, it felt like the poor man was just looking to see if he had dressed acceptably to match her. “You look gorgeous.” 

 

She smiled in response, relaxing. He was as nervous as she was. “Hey yourself. Thank you, and you look wonderful too. What plans do we have today?” She asked. 

 

If the two ever got a chance to look back on the date, they’d mark it as a failure. For one, both were painfully inexperienced, having not dated in so long, and secondly, the lack of fluidity. The conversation was a staccato-like dialogue, there was a lack of flowers on Shiro’s end, and a lack of preparation on both parts. 

 

But the two, not having such standards, were simply content in the moment. 

 

“I was thinking we could go out to eat? Thai, if that’s alright with you. And then if you aren’t tired of me, we can just go walk in a nearby garden.” Shiro offered, mentally thanking Lance for going and scoping out the venue and the nearby establishments. Lance was all in, considering that the doctor would be their only source of information. 

 

“That sounds lovely. And I’m guessing this is our ride?” She asked, her hand gesturing to the motorcycle— a simple Yamaha YZF he had gotten when he had been in college. 

 

Shiro rubbed his head sheepishly. “I didn’t think you wanted to be in the cruiser, and this is the only thing I own. Will this be okay?” He asked, his eyes catching on her dress. Crap, he hadn’t accounted for that. 

 

“It’ll be fine. I’ll figure it out. I’ve always wanted to ride one.” She said simply, and that soothed his fears. 

 

He neatly slid onto front of the motorcycle, and after a heartbeat, she slid on the back as well, her legs on one side of the bike, her hand resting on his shoulder to keep steady. He looked at his watch—8:33. Two minutes till they could depart. He handed her a helmet, his lips quirking up into a grin. “Don’t want to get ticketed for not wearing a helmet.” He said as he slid his on. The soft laugh at his terrible joke made him feel a bit better, and he started the bike. After a quick glance at his watch for confirmation that it was 8:35, they sped off. 

 

 

He started off slow, but when he didn’t hear any shrieking or screaming for him to stop, he gradually sped up. “You okay?” He asked gently when they stopped at a red light, and the breathless, exhilarated “Yeah!” from Allura brought a smile to his face. He neatly guided them from street to street, into the parking lot of the restaurant. After turning his bike off, he got down, extending a hand to help her. 

 

Her hands were soft and dainty: nothing would tell him that she literally held lives in her hands. Shiro helped her off, taking the helmet, and bit back a chuckle at the way her hair was in disarray. When her expression turned quizzical at his amused one, Allura quickly caught sight of herself in the bike’s mirrors, and barked out a laugh. “Dear lord, my hair looks like it’s alive.” 

 

“Sorry, sorry. I’ll bring the car next time.” 

 

“Don’t you dare. I enjoyed that.” She said with a fierceness that was unprecedented. She turned to him after a minute, and tilted her head. “Better?” 

 

He reached out, his hand gently tucking one strand that she had failed to gather behind her ear. “Better.” He agreed, before glancing at his watch. Dammit. It was 8:46. 

 

“Are we going to go in? Or are we going to idle around here?” Her voice was teasing, but for him, it made him feel a bit sick. Go in? Now? It was 8:46, and he swore the second hand on his watch was ticking slower than ever. 

 

“Um—“ He began, the stutter twisting out of his mouth as he grappled with what to tell her. That he was a weirdo? That he needed validation from square numbers?

 

“Shiro?” Her voice was gentle as she placed a hand on his arm. “What’s up?” 

 

Shiro noted that she didn’t ask what was wrong, or what was happening, she kept it very neutral for him to explain his reservations at going in at such a time. 

 

“It’s 8:47.” He muttered, tapping the glass on the watch face. 

 

“Right. Do we have reservations at a specific time?”

 

He couldn’t. She was being so nice and gentle and he couldn’t just lie to her. Besides, they were going to be spending more and more time together—his obsession wasn’t something that could be missed. 

 

“No, it’s just that— I have a condition. A case of OCD.” He opened his mouth to explain, but stopped when she nodded like she understood. Of course she did, she was a doctor. 

 

“I see. And you enjoy certain timings?” She asked with a tilt of her head. 

 

“Yes, square numbers. Something ending in five, or actual square numbers themselves.” 

 

“Anything else that you are particular about?”

 

“Number of steps. Number of things. Should be square numbers. Just…numbers.” Shiro said, and it was clear he was struggling to explain. 

 

He barely met her eyes, but the azure orbs held no contempt, but rather understanding. “Alright, Shiro. It’s 8:50. Is that an okay time to go inside?” With his nod, Allura gently took his hand and led him in, the police officer marveling at how calmly she approached the situation. 

 

Ten things on the table—Two wineglasses, two plates, six pieces of cutlery. 

 

A soft squeeze of his hand sent him looking upwards, his gaze transfixed by icy blue eyes once more. After a moment, he realized that she was quietly asking him if everything was alright, and he squeezed her hand once in response, to let her know that everything was okay. 

 

“What are you ordering?” She asked with a tilt of her head. “I might get the Pad Kee-Mow.” She murmured. “Oooh, or maybe even the Singaporean noodles.”

 

“Pad Thai.” Shiro responded, and shrugged when she shot him an amused smile. “I enjoy consistency.”

 

“Shall we split, then? You can try something new if you’d like, and I can try the Pad Thai from you. And I’ll order an appetizer.” She said, and it was a good idea. 

 

(Five things, he noted. She was keeping the balance. Order of two waters, one appetizer, two entrees. This woman was amazing.)

 

“Sounds great. I admit I’m not too great about trying new things.” He said, leaning forward. Their orders were taken, and she started the conversation. “I’ve been craving Thai for so long.” 

 

“You can just call me and tell me, I’ll pick your craving up for you.” He said with a shrug. 

 

“That’s funny, I didn’t realize your name was ‘Postmates’.” She teased, a sparkle in her eye. “But that means I have to step away from the earshot of everyone else to call you.” An over-exaggeration of course, but Shiro suspected there was some truth within the casual statement. 

 

“Everyone’s all up in your business?”

 

“Oh, yeah. The pediatric kids know about you, and they want to meet you now. They’re obsessed with my dating life. Apparently I’m a complete recluse, which isn’t healthy. I think Coran, one of the nurses, puts them up to it. He finds it funny when I’m grilled by someone else.” Allura said, but fondness was clearly written over her features. 

 

“Send me their coffee orders. I’ll pick it up when I come to see them.” Shiro said simply, and based on the way the woman’s lips perked up into a genuine smile, he knew that was the right answer. 

 

“Oh boy. I’m never going to hear the end of this. Once you start that, they’re going to be absolutely smitten with you. No one will be able to reach your level after you.” She shook her head. 

 

“Maybe there won’t be a need for someone after me.” He said—and had he just flirted? Had he just thrown out the insinuation that he would be the One for her?

 

Jesus, Shiro. A pang of guilt wracked him on how he was misleading the other—she was a good person. But his case was important. 

 

Luckily for him, the doctor didn’t seem to pick up on his internal conflict. Rather, she seemed charmed, a sprinkle of pink blush dusting her cheeks. 

 

They chatted about meaningless things, from college (“Frats and Sororities are misrepresented. But then again, I was never in one.” Allura had said, with Shiro agreeing) to the weather (“I’d like Persephone to be consistent. Either stay with her husband for a few more weeks, or come back up.” Shiro had grumbled about the lack of warm weather in May). 

 

Soon their orders were placed in front of them, and Allura’s fork was digging into the flat noodles in front of her. A noise of appreciation slipped from her lips as the rich flavors burst on her tongue with a forkful. “It’s excellent! What about yours?”

 

Shiro already had a mouthful, and he swallowed and dabbed at his lips with a napkin. “Excellent, as always.” He said, and held out a forkful. Allura seemed pleased by that action, and wrapped her lips around his offering, and after a few moments, her eyes lit up. “So good!” She said, then offered her own forkful out. He took it without hesitation, and nodded in appreciation. “It’s good.” He said, coughing slightly. “Spicy.” He said as he reached for his water. 

 

They continued sharing half of their meal, and by the end, Shiro’s water had been refilled five times and was currently empty, and Allura’s water had barely even been touched. He glared playfully at her tolerance, but she just wiped her lips with a smirk. 

 

Their stroll was short—both were incredibly tired and full after the meal, enjoying the afterglow of an exquisite meal. But they walked, hand in hand, enjoying the pathway of the park (they had opted to go to the gardens later). When she shivered, he draped his jacket around her, and a few minutes later, they departed. 

 

With her guidance, he was able to make it to her apartment building, and he walked her up to the door. 

 

“Thanks, I had a lovely time.” She murmured quietly, handing him his jacket back. 

 

“Can I take you out again?” He asked, and grinned when he saw her nod. They lingered in the dim light, and his gaze fell from her eyes to her lips—and she tilted her head upwards slightly as if it was an indication of what she wanted. 

 

He leaned down and kissed her, soft and sweet. It was chaste but still left a blush on both of her kisses. As he pulled away, she reached up and pulled him back to her, his mouth captured by hers. This was more involved, and she tasted like Thai food and Allura, an addicting taste that he savored as he went back in for the third and fourth kiss. 

 

“One more for luck. Good night, Shiro.” She murmured as she leaned up on her tiptoes, and pressed her lips against his for the fifth time. With that, she disappeared inside her apartment, and Shiro was left counting the 20 steps from her apartment to where he was parked, grinning like a fool. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugh, this is so late. sorry about that, work and life got in the way. expect the next update soon!

**Author's Note:**

> let me know what you thought!
> 
> comments inspire me. 
> 
> drop a kudos if you enjoyed. 
> 
> catch me on tumblr: @chai_and_coffee


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